Cong to take call on Kurien before Budget Session: Chacko

New Delhi: Amidst growing calls for the removal of Deputy Chariman of Rajya Sabha PJ Kurien, Congress spokesperson and Kurien's colleague from Kerala, PC Chacko has said the party will take a decision on his removal before the Budget Session.

Meanwhile, there are indications that the infighting in Congress is adding to Kurien's troubles. Kurien is close to Defence Minister AK Antony and a known detractor of Chacko. Antony, meanwhile, has made an appeal to his party colleagues in the party to tone down the infighting.

PJ Kurien was acquitted in the 1996 Suryanelli rape case, but the gangrape victim has named him as one of the men who assaulted her in 1996.

Kurien was acquitted in the 1996 Suryanelli rape case, but the gangrape victim has named him as one of the men who assaulted her in 1996. The Suryanelli rape survivor sent a letter to the Supreme Court last week, asking for a review of the apex court's order quashing all charges against Kurien.

Kurien has, however, claimed that he was a victim of a political conspiracy. Denying allegations against him, Kurien has been refusing to step down. In 1996, in Suryanelli, bordering the tea gardens of Munnar, a teenaged girl was raped by over 42 men including a bus conductor and many others. Faced with ostracisation, the victim's family had to leave the village.